Ways to migrate

In-place upgrading
Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 can both be upgraded in-place to Windows Server 2008, as long as you keep the following in mind:

The Windows Server 2003 patchlevel should be at least Service Pack 1

You can’t upgrade across architectures (x86, x64 & Itanium)

Standard Edition can be upgraded to both Standard and Enterprise Edition

Enterprise Edition van be upgraded to Enterprise Edition only

Datacenter Edition van be upgraded to Datacenter Edition only

In-place upgrading requires you to run adprep.exe before starting the upgrade process on the Domain Controllers. Check the information provided by Jorge for more information.

Transitioning
Migrating this way means adding Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers to your existing Active Directory environment. After successfully moving the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles you can simply demote the previous Domain Controllers, remove them from the domain and throw them out of the window.Transitioning is possible for Active Directory environments which domain functional level is at least Windows 2000 Native.

Restructuring
A third way to go from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers is restructuring your Active Directory environment. This involves moving all your resources from one (Windows Server 2003) domain to a new and fresh (Windows Server 2008) domain. Using tools like the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) are priceless in these kind of migrations.

Reasons to transition

I feel transitioning is the middle road between the two other ways to migrate to Windows Server 2008:

Restructuring means filling a new Active Directory from scratch

In-place upgrading means you’re stuck with the same hardware and limited to certain upgrade paths

Transitioning means you get to keep your current Active Directory lay-out, contents, group policies and schema. Transitioning also means moving to new machines, which can be dimensioned to last another three to five years without trouble.

Assess your readiness

Microsoft has kindly provided a tool to scan systems to assess whether systems are capable of running Windows Server 2008, whether drivers are available (either from Microsoft update or on the installation media) and what problems you might encounter when deploying Windows server 2008. I recommend checking your systems with this tool, which is called the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator (MAP for short).

Backups

Make backups of all your Domain Controllers and verify you can restore these backups when needed.

Documentation

It is a good thing to know exactly what you’re migrating. When things go wrong you might need to be able to revert back to the old situation. This might require the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password and credentials for service accounts, which might not be written down anywhere. In multiple Domain Controller, multiple domain, multiple forest and multiple sites scenarios it’s very wise to make a table containing the relevant information per Domain Controller in terms of Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles, Global Catalog placement, domain membership, site membership, replication topology, routing tables, IP addressing, etc.

Communication

When done right your colleagues might not even suspect a thing, but it’s important to shed some light on what you’re doing. (Make someone) communicate to the end users that you’re going to mess with the core of their infrastructure. This might result in colleagues understanding you’re (really) busy and might also result in problems being reported fast. Both are good things if you’d ask me…

Prepare your Active Directory environment

Before you can begin to introduce the first Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller into your existing Active Directory environment, you first have to prepare the Active Directory.

Microsoft provides a tool called adprep.exe to facilitate this preparation. You need to run the following commands on the following servers in your Active Directory environment:

Command

Domain Controller

adprep.exe /forestprep

Schema Master

adprep.exe /domainprep

Infrastructure Master

adprep.exe /domainprep /gpprep

Infrastructure Master

adprep.exe /rodcprep *

Domain Naming Master

* Optional when you want to deploy Read Only Domain Controllers.

After preparing your Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 be sure to check the process. Breadcrumbs to failures may be found in the event viewer, but real men will check the adprep.log files. If your life depends on it, you can use the HowTo Jorge wrote to check forestprep and domainprep succesfully replicated to all Domain controllers.

Allow sufficient time for proper replication to all Domain Controllers. (In large environments with specific replication needs this might take hours.) When you feel all changes have been replicated use the replmon and repadmin tools to check and optionally troubleshoot Active Directory replication.

Install the first Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller

You could already start installing Windows Server 2008 on a fresh box and make it a member of the domain, while preparing your Active Directory. When you’re done preparing your Active Directory you can safely go ahead installing the first Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller by promoting a Windows Server 2008 box to a Domain Controller, using dcpromo.exe.

When running dcpromo.exe make sure you select to make this Domain Controller an extra Domain Controller for the Active Directory domain you’re transitioning. Type a secure password for Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM).

Tip:Write down the the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password.

Since each Active Directory Domain Controller stores a copy of the Active Directory information, like users, computers, etc. and the NETLOGON and SYSVOL shares, your new Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller will be open for business after you restarted it to complete the wizard.

Install additional Domain Controllers

Installing additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers is as easy as purchasing them, licensing them, installing them and promoting them. There’s really nothing to it: Once you’ve introduced the first Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller you know how to do it.

If you find installing loads of Domain Controllers is a tedious job you might want to promote servers to Domain Controllers using answer files. When Domain Controllers need to be placed in locations with limited connectivity or bandwidth constraints you might want to explore the Install from Media (IFM) possibilities.

In multiple Domain Controller scenarios Jorge has a good rule of thumb on Global Catalogs and the Infrastructure Master Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) Role. Either:

Don’t make the Domain Controller holding the Infrastructure Master Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) Role a Global Catalog server, (and only) if there is another Domain Controller in the same Active Directory domain that is also not a Global Catalog;

Make all Domain Controllers Global Catalog servers.

When your environment includes Microsoft Exchange Server reboot a Domain Controller after making it a Global Catalog server. Microsoft Exchange communicates with Active Directory through Global Catalogs using MAPI. Although the Active Directory Sites and Services MMC Snap-in doesn’t ask for it you need to restart a Domain Controller at least one time after making it a Global Catalog before it starts talking MAPI.

Make sure your Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers are no longer clinging on to any of the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) Roles using the graphical user interface, using replmon or the following command using netdom.exe from the Resource Kit:

netdom.exe query fsmo

Check proper installation and replication

It is a best practice to review the logs to identify any problems that might have occurred during the promotion. The logs to scrutinize specifically are:

dcpromo.logAll the events regarding the creation and removal of Active Directory, SYSVOL trees and the installation, modification and removal of key services

dcpromoui.log
all the events from a graphical interface perspective

Also check the event viewer.

Allow sufficient time for proper replication to all Domain Controllers. (In large environments with specific replication needs this might take hours.) When you feel all changes have been replicated use the replmon and repadmin tools to check and optionally troubleshoot proper Active Directory replication.

Demote Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers

I’ve seen Domain Controllers became the prostitutes of the server room in many environments. Any software that didn’t require a dedicated server or was deemed highly dependent on the Active Directory was installed on the Domain Controller. When you’re one of the administrators treating their Domain Controllers like that you’re going to have a hard time demoting your Domain Controllers. Testing demotions in a separate (virtual) testing environment could give your a clear picture on the behavior of your Windows Server 2003 ex-Domain Controllers though!

From my personal experience I can tell you it’s not recommended to demote a Domain Controller when it has Exchange Server or Internet Information Services installed after it was promoted. You’re going to have to find another box to install these services on.

When your Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers are also Domain Name System (DNS) servers it is recommended to change the DNS zones into Active Directory Integrated DNS zones (when possible) so they get replicated to any Domain Controller running the DNS service. Installing the DNS Server role on a Windows Server 2008 would then suffice to migrate DNS settings. Be sure to change the DNS information on your other servers and workstations, before removing DNS servers from your network.

You can safely demote a Domain Controller using the dcpromo.exe command. If you’re unsuccessful you might want to try to remove the server from Active Directory the hard way, which Jorge describes. (leaving out the percussive maintenance option though)

Log on to the Domain Controller holding the PDC emulator FSMO role with a user account that is a member of the Domain Administrators group..

Open Active Directory Domains and Trusts.

In the console tree, right-click the domain for which you want to raise functionality, and then click Raise Domain Functional Level.

In Select an available domain functional level, click Windows Server 2008, and then click Raise.

Upgrade the forest functional level

After you’ve successfully upgraded the domain functional level of all the domains in your Active Directory forest you’re ready to upgrade the Forest functional level. This will not add any features, but will result in all domains that are subsequently added to the forest will operate at the Windows Server 2008 domain functional level by default.

Note:
Raising the functional level is a one way procedure. Once you’ve raised your forest functional level there’s no way to return to the previous forest or domain functional levels.

To upgrade the forest functional level to Windows Server 2008 perform the following actions:

Log on to the Domain Controller of the forest root domain holding the PDC Emulator FSMO role with a user account that is a member of the Enterprise Administrators group.

Under Select an available forest functional level, click Windows Server 2008, and then click Raise.

Concluding

Transition your Active Directory to Windows Server 2008 seems as easy as running adprep and installing Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers. It might be in small shops with one single Domain Controller in one single Active Directory domain in its own forest with one single Active Directory site.

Be sure to check whether what you’re doing is successfully installed, performed and replicated before you screw up your Active Directory environment though!

Thanks, Sander.
It works excellent. I checked adprep.log-s, saw in event viewer – OK, active directory is replicated.
Now I have 2 servers: 2003 & 2008.
2008 has only AD and empty. I gonna put shared folders with data and sites here(2008) from 2003 and throw it away.
So, how can I do it best?
Is it rigth: At nigth, copy all data and re-create shared folders on the new server, swicth off 2003 and rename 2008 to 2003-name?
And what would be with users, which synchronize their data with server?

So, some computers are lost (like DSK0008, DSK0009 …). It was since previous 2003 server crash – nobody saved AD, then AD was created from the beginning, some computers were just rejoined to the domain, others not. Those users which are not rejoined still can log on, but I see the event on the server:

Event ID: 5513

Source: Netlogon

Description: The computer name <computer name> connected to server <name>

using the trust relationship to the <name> domain. However,

the computer doesn’t properly know the security identifier

(SID) for the domain. Reestablish the trust relationship.

The problem is: I can simply rejoin those computers(Microsoft’s answer). But in this case I would have so much problems – because new profile will be created and I must move all staff and mail and funny things… on each computer. And speak with blond girls and explain them things …

So, is there a way to restore those “trust relationships” between computers and new 2008 server without troubles?

fromhttp:// August 25, 2008 at 4:37 AM

Yeah, sure!

The only problem you seem to be experiencing is the loss of user profiles. (which are actually not lost)

I’ll assume you’re the one changing the domain membership of the computer and you don’t have any roaming profiles.

After you’ve made the workstation a member of the new domain and after the user has logged on and off once, you can log in as an administrator and copy the contents of the old profile in C:\Documents and Settings\UserName to the new profile in C:\Documents and Settings\UserName.DomainName. (check datestamps to determine the old and new profile)

This will restore the user profiles. Now you can ask these blond girls meaningful questions instead of merely fixing their computer troubles

The next is a spare Windows Server 2008 problem:
I bought second server to make it spare. I plan to copy (automatic replication) AD on it only for emergency. If first server crashes – users can logon using another one. I can quickly restore data from backup, …

But when I try to install AD on it using dcpromo.exe – in the last stage (installing) it says funny thing:

You should run adprep on the Domain Controllers holding the respective FSMO roles. These are your current Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers.

I recommend using adprep from the sources\adprep folder from either a Windows Server 2008 DVD or Windows Server 2008 with integrated Service Pack 2 DVD. Be sure to use DVD media corresponding to the architecture (x86 or x64) of your Windows Server 2003 Domain Controllers. You can use trial media of Windows Server 2008 for this purpose, if need be.

Also, when you copy adprep to a local folder on your Domain Controller, be sure to copy the whole folder containing adprep.exe and not just adprep.exe itself.

Do you have any links to any articles on moving/migrating from an existing domain, i.e. thedomain.com to a new one, i.e. thenewdomain.com? I basically want a fresh domain but need to migrate or move all existing servers & clients to the new domain, including exchange and app servers.

Hoping to find an article that at least outlines all the areas to consider so I don’t screw it up!!

fromChudless March 16, 2012 at 5:17 PM

Hi chudless,

Thanks for your reply.

I don’t have a blogpost in this series on the ‘migrating’ scenario. Huge differences between networking environments and their impact on the migration process make that an impossible blogpost to write.

Note:Although the downloadpage talks about version 3.0 of the tool, the documentation applies to version 3.0, 3.1 and version 3.2.

Note:ADMT versioning is not about bugfixes, but about the support matrix of the source and target domains/forests. Later versions of ADMT support more recent Windows Server OS’s and Functional Levels as target domains and forests, but also limit the Windows Server OS’s and Functional Levels as source domains and forests.

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